Red Bull Manny Mania- Lighting strikes twice in Trujillo

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Red Bull Manny Mania: Lightning strikes twice in Trujillo

Red Bull Manny Mania: Lightning strikes twice in Trujillo

by Tim Sturtridge, 19 May 2011

Peru’s sunny city of Trujillo welcomed the country’s top skateboarders for the national final of Red Bull Manny Mania with a place at the grand final in New York City up for grabs.

Peruvian participants descended on the Mall Aventura Plaza in the heart of Trujillo from all corners of the country. For one day only, the city’s busiest shopping district had been transformed into a skatepark designed especially for Manny Mania.

Every skater on the scene had just one objective on their mind, bringing out enough skill and style to book that ticket to The Big Apple.

After the preliminary rounds, only four skaters remained and the quartet was given one last ride to prove they had what it takes to represent Peru in the grand final. Watching on from the judge’s table were Peruvian skating heavyweights Manuel Villavicencio and Gino Schettini together with the editor of Grind Magazine, Rodolfo Sanchez.

Also handing out marks in Trujillo was Chilean skater Braulio Sagas, who was back in South America after riding at the Asian X-Games in China.

First up, Richard Camacho set the standard by nailing a nose manuel/nollie shove it 360° combo. Before the competition, Richard was a virtual unknown on the Peruvian skate scene and now it looked like he would get the chance to represent his country in New York.

Then came strong rides from Freddy Wong and Diego Rodriguez, both riders gave the judges plenty to think about after throwing a few nollie flip frontside 360° manuels into the mix.

With the pressure turned up in Trujillo, out stepped Guillermo ‘El Bat’ Vascones onto the ramps. Guillermo had won last year’s Peruvian Manny Mania final and was in no mood to hand over his crown this time around.

Just as he had done in the preliminary rounds, Guillermo produced his A-Game in the final. Another faultless ride with trademark trickery, including some killer kickflips, meant that the judges had seen enough.

With his ticket to the States safely secured in his back pocket Guillermo reflected on winning one of the toughest challenges of his skating career.

“It’s an incredible feeling to win this event for a second time. I’m so motivated now to represent my county in New York after thinking that I wouldn’t win here in Peru. I’m absolutely amazed how much tougher the competition is now in Peru compared to 12 months ago.”

X-Games skater Braulio Sagas could not help but agree with Guillermo’s assessment of Peru’s improving skate scene.

“I haven’t been to Peru for over a year and to tell you the truth I was surprised by the talent I saw this time. Every time I come back the standard just seems to increase, the tricks we saw today are worth a place in any final.”

Guillermo ‘El Bat’ Vascones will now participate in the Red Bull Manny Mania Grand Final on August 21st in New York City against 30 other skaters from all over the world.